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Rita Coolidge on Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin

Two messages in ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’

Singer-songwriter Rita Coolidge, 70, has recorded 15 Billboard pop-chart hits and has won two Grammy Awards. She is the author of “Delta Lady: A Memoir” (Harper). She spoke with Marc Myers.

I was attending Florida State University in late 1964 when Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” was released. The song’s orchestration and Cooke’s lyrics and molasses-like voice touched me deeply. My father was Native American, and my parents had instilled in me the belief that everyone is the same, regardless of race.